Back in 1960, Denis Brault and Robert Martineau opened their first furniture and appliance store in Montreal’s east end. A hard-hitting formula and an adroit marketing strategy helped the brand grow quickly across Quebec.

Starting in 1992, the year of Rubin & Rotman’s initial project for Brault & Martineau, and up until recently, the architects’ challenge has been to adapt 72,000-square-foot spaces for each of 13 stores, with a warehouse, service areas and a showroom. The typical showroom was subdivided into four segments – furniture, electronic devices, electrical appliance and sleep gallery.

Facing a transformed market and increased competition, Brault & Martineau altered its approach. The EconoMax concept arose from this thinking, and the architects devised a 55,000-square-foot prototype aimed at reducing the size of the showroom and putting more emphasis on the warehouse store concept.